Johnson & Jonson

Unlike Blu's previous project, Blu and Exile's Below the Heavens, the emphasis here is more on Mainframe's production. The L.A. producer offers a beat pastiche, much in the same spirit as Prince Paul, Madlib or Danger Mouse, and the tracks here veer from up-tempo Motown boogie to down-tempo, jazzy West Coast hip-hop. Blu's rhymes are more freewheeling, less serious and introspective. It's doubtful that this will have the same impact as Below the Heavens, but it's a fun album that shows off Blu's versatility.